Which needs to go? Speakers or HU?

Just got a 2006 6i with the Bose "upgrade." I use that term loosely because I'm not at all impressed with it. The whole "200-watt" deal is just marketing BS; I wasn't born yesterday. At best, you have to divide that in half to get available RMS power, and even then that has to be divvied between 6 or 7 speakers, so in the end it's not nearly as impressive as it looks on paper. But I knew that going in. Getting rid of factory audio is a fact of life. However, in this case, I'm not sure what to replace. Is it the speakers or the head unit that sucks? There isn't much bass at all, and lower midrange just sounds awful.

When it comes to factory-installed autosound, brand name means nothing. Slapping "Bose" on the grille of some newspaper-cone $5 speaker doesn't make it worth a damn. Far as I'm concerned, it's all AC-Delco to me.

I know that good speakers can make a mediocre amp sound good, just as sorry speakers can make a decent amp sound awful, so I'm thinking these Bose uberspeakers are to blame here. In my Volkswagen, the factory speakers sound wonderful to my ears, and getting a new head unit really brought out the best in them. But I could tell from the start that those were good speakers. In this Mazda, I'm not too sure. I also see that replacing the head unit would be a major PITA, which is why I'm more inclined to upgrade the speakers first. If I prove myself wrong and it's the HU that sucks, then well, I'll have some nice speakers to go with my new deck, won't I?

So to sum it up, should the speakers go first, or the deck? And what's this "9-inch subwoofer" I hear about but don't seem to actually hear? Will that need to be replaced as well, and where exactly is it mounted? Sorry for so many questions, but I'd like to get this right the first time. Thanks in advance!

Yikes, after some delving, I found out that the sub is under the spare tire. Under the spare tire! Sheesh, no wonder I can't hear it. And the door speakers are 2-ohm, the HU is passive, there's a shatty amp under one of the seats... This looks like a lot of work in store. (not to mention money...)

Great, I paid more for LESS. ARGH, I hate factory stereos!

well you have an '06, so it may be a bit more difficult (and ugly) to ditch the head unit. If you had an '05 or below, you'd be able to get the metra dash kit. I don't believe they've come out with the kits for the '06 yet. There are a few threads in the audio section about upgrading the speakers and the amp. There are a few devices out on the market that allow you to grab a signal from the head unit, and pass it to a better aftermarket amp.

I paid $1400 for THIS?!?

Behold the indomitable Bose Bass Box!!!



That's right, a mighty 5" subwoofer mounted inside my spare tire! This is QUALITY, folks! How can the neighbors stand it???

I see where I'm gonna have to go for now. Cash is a little short at them moment after dropping that down payment on this car, so it's baby steps till I get it to my liking.

First step will be to buy a passive sub box. I'm just going to wire straight from the Bose sub amp into the box for the time being. I mean c'mon, anything has to be better than a 5" bass driver. I'm doing that today.

Next step (as funds roll in) will be to replace the newspaper-cone door speakers with real speakers. Possibly Boston Acoustics, but I'll need to hear other brands as well. I know the Bose amp has some goofy built-in EQ to compensate for those god-awful speakers, but I'll live with that until I can afford a decent 5-channel amp to finish out the system, which will be the 3rd and final step. I hope to have allt his accomplished in the next 2 months. Not looking to spend a whole lot, but it doesn't take a helluva lot to satisfy me. Unfortunately, it DOES take more than what's in the car right now. (argh)

never upgrade a factory sound system unless it is legit. You are better off going somewhere to get better aftermarket equipment/accessories because the dealership crap is that and highly expensive.

Yeah, I know. I really didn't even want the Blose option, but it was the only 5-speed on the lot and I was dead set on driving it home as soon as I saw it. And sadly, the Blose comes as a package with the sunroof, which I did want, and there doesn't seem to be anyway to separate the two.

Oh well, off to Circuit bad and Worst Buy. Joy...

I have a Speed6... Probably somewhat similar... however my sub was on the back deck.. rather than in the spare tire... I won't get into how retarded that is...


HOWEVER... The bose system.. you cannot replace the speakers... they are built and tuned to work the the factory amp... There is no real... good... or most likely WORKING way to just replace the speakers...

You also... cannot just replace the head unit... It is not powered... it sends a low power signal to the amp.. which then splits it off.. powers it.. and send it to the speakers in the unique bose crap way... My sub also had its own little amp attached...

Anyway... You have a few options listed below:

A) DSP - Digital Signal Processor... Can take the factory deck signal... provide you with 4 channel output for a 4 channel amp... which you then use to power new speakers... Usually the DSP will clean up and level out the factory deck signal... This is what I did.. and it sounds great. in fact my HIGHS are way too loud.. make my ears hurt.. i need to turn my tweeters down.. and my bass is awsome.

B) Replace deck.. AND all speakers. With a new deck... and new speakers... you can't go wrong... Will sound as good as what you buy.. and nothing can go wrong really...


I chose to go with option A... as I wanted to keep my steering wheel controls.. and the look of my factory deck / console...

The HU itself doesn't do any of that equalizing crap though, does it? It just sends a normal signal to the amp, and the amp EQ's the sound before sending it to the speakers, right? If that's the case, then I'll just go with a real amp and replace the door speakers. The stock HU is pretty decent for my needs, and the option would be there to change it later anyway. Does your DSP actually have to flatten out the signal or does it just convert the signal amplitude?

I doubt I'll need a sub if I get quality door speakers; I'm not a bass-head in any sense of the word.

Now I've read in some places that the rear speakers are 5 1/4, and in others that they're 6 1/2. Which is correct?

kvndoom said:

The HU itself doesn't do any of that equalizing crap though, does it? It just sends a normal signal to the amp, and the amp EQ's the sound before sending it to the speakers, right? If that's the case, then I'll just go with a real amp and replace the door speakers. The stock HU is pretty decent for my needs, and the option would be there to change it later anyway. Does your DSP actually have to flatten out the signal or does it just convert the signal amplitude?

I doubt I'll need a sub if I get quality door speakers; I'm not a bass-head in any sense of the word.

Now I've read in some places that the rear speakers are 5 1/4, and in others that they're 6 1/2. Which is correct?

Click to expand...

The bose amp does (did) all of the processing in my speed6. I bypassed it and interfaced the stock HU with a Audiocontrol LC6 and a Audiocontrol EQS. Your going to need something decent off of the HU since the signal is minimal. The front door speakers in my car are 6.5 and the rears are 5.25.

Well, I'm getting the door speakers changed tomorrow. I can't STAND the godawful sound coming from those things. Midrange vocals sound like nails on chalkboard and makes my ears bleed. I know the Blose amp doesn't output a flat signal, does anyone happen to know the EQ curve it puts out? Is there a graph anywhere that shows it? I hope it doesn't rape the sound curve TOO badly, but at this point I'm going to have to take my chances.

kvndoom said:

Well, I'm getting the door speakers changed tomorrow. I can't STAND the godawful sound coming from those things. Midrange vocals sound like nails on chalkboard and makes my ears bleed. I know the Blose amp doesn't output a flat signal, does anyone happen to know the EQ curve it puts out? Is there a graph anywhere that shows it? I hope it doesn't rape the sound curve TOO badly, but at this point I'm going to have to take my chances.

Click to expand...

Cleansweep I installed levels the signal out.... with my 4-channel.. and monoblock... I get just about the same signal as I would from an aftermarket deck... Cleansweep might not be the best way to go... but some sort of DSP (Digital Signal processor) is a good way to go...

Got the door speakers replaced with Polk's today, and it sounds a heckuva lot better than the garbage it came with. At least now it's bearable. That'll tide me over until I can afford more equipment to throw in there.

Still a little confused about the need for a DSP... if the equalization is done inside the bose amp and I ultimately bypass that anyway and put my own amp inline, why would I need a DSP? Wouldn't a line-level converter to mate the HU to the amp be enough?

Still a little confused about the need for a DSP... if the equalization is done inside the bose amp and I ultimately bypass that anyway and put my own amp inline, why would I need a DSP? Wouldn't a line-level converter to mate the HU to the amp be enough?

Click to expand...

First let me start off with... i'm amazed you got aftermarket speakers working off the bose amp... A few people and shops I looked into.. wouldn't even consider trying... as the bose system is so custom and tuned for itself...

Back to the questions... The Bose factory deck.. outputs a signal... VERY low signal at that... to the factory amp.. which then splits it up.. boosts it.. and sends it off to the door speakers... and another signal to the subs amp... I could always be wrong... However I don't think you can find any output or signal off the factory deck that will work with a 4-channel (any channel) amp... You'd have to splice RCA connectors onto the wires you cut off the amp or something... MIGHT work...

Now i'm going to be really upset if the DSP i got isn't required.. in fact... does little to nothing... compared to splicing the Bose deck directly into a 4-channel amp...

I've read a lot about other DSP type systems which are better in every way than the JL Cleansweep i got... and i'm already upset somewhat about that... however... it works... so i'm happy...